Destiny
by Shini02
Summary: AU. Mixing Beast Wars, G1 and the 2007 movie. “There are few things in this world that are fair. Destiny isn't one of them.” A series of connected vignettes. Dinobot x OFC.
1. A Matter of Trust

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Beast Wars or the 2007 Transformers movie or the G1 cartoon. I own none of the characters, either, except for Amanda. My friend, Noelle (beautybedamned) owns Caitlin and Jin and Doozy, as well as the actual multiverse this fic is set in. And lastly, Dinobot's anthro design belongs to Uppertorso over on DeviantART

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**A Matter of Trust**

He supposed it was the result of that blasted transwarp wave Rhinox warned them about. However, the scientist never did figure out just what the warp would do. They all assumed the worst and vainly hoped for the best, the way all descendants of the Autobots did, while Dinobot waited silently in his quarters for this wave of energy to wash over them. He remembered staring at the too-low ceiling of the Axalon, pacing the too-small confines of his room, running metallic claws over the skin of his deceased clone and just waiting. Waiting for whatever destiny had in store for him, for the Maximals, for the Predacons, and ultimately, the Beast Wars. He expected death and destruction, and a part of him wondered if taking his rotary blade and piercing his spark would be a more suitable end for a warrior such as himself.

But he never had the chance to give it a second thought. The ship had begun to tremble and every alarm system had started sounding, Sentinel repeatedly announcing unstable energies incoming quickly. He heard Cheetor asking in frantic panic what was happening, and Primal's reply was muffled by the vermin's declaration of inevitable doom. Then everything had gone silent and dark as he was forced into a deep recharge.

He never expected to wake near a human compound. Never expected to find a heart throbbing in place of his spark. Never expected blood to run in place of mech fluid... And he most certainly never expected a group of young humans to gather around him and subdue him in his state of incoherency. It was pure luck the first time he managed to rid himself of the young men by swinging at them with his tail. The second time he was not so lucky, being knocked to the ground again by a man he was certain he heard one of the females address as Magnus.

Being locked away inside of a cage far too frail to hold him gave him time to process the situation. It was rather obvious the wave had relocated him to another place on an earth more modern than the prehistoric world he had shamefully come to know so well. He assumed the other Maximals and Predacons shared his fate, though he didn't particularly care to worry about them at the given time. Wherever they were, they were not the ones trapped in a flimsy man-made cage in a subbasement of a base filled with humans – some of which shared the names of great Cybertronian warriors. The only logical reasoning he could come up was simple: this was the future of the primitive planet the Axalon and Darkside crashed on, but it wasn't far enough in the future for the Great Wars to have passed over completely. And he was alright with that, considering time travel wasn't exactly an uncommon thing where he was from.

The only thing he was not able to come to terms with so easily was the fact that he was no longer robotic. He had an organic body and he was sure the throb of his heart would drive him mad long before he was let out of his pathetic prison. He was now a strange creature; half man, half velociraptor, with blue skin meeting copper scales. The body itself was powerful, he knew that from the time he had spent in his beast form to avoid energon surges. But he wasn't pleased in the least, regardless. The body was vulnerable. This body could be broken and torn apart a lot easier than a body made of metal and circuits. This body could not repair itself over the course of a few mega-cycles. This body could die at any given moment.

And right when he began to feel the natural panic all things mortal felt upon realizing they could die or be killed, that was when _she_ came down those stairs oh so slowly, her hand clenched tightly on the metal railing. She approached slowly, as though she were the predator and he were the prey – and he would let her think such, simply because it was amusing to watch a fragile little thing like her think she had power over him. He wondered if she knew how easy it would be for him to break out of the cage and just as easily break her little body. If she did, she never let on as she stood within arm's reach, assuming she was so safe beyond the bars that held him.

"My name's Amanda," the girl said with her eyes wandering over his body. He thought he saw a hint of fascination, even adoration. Surely the little human didn't think this wretched form was appealing...

He decided to humor her. "Amanda," he repeated, playing the odd human name around on his tongue, deciding it had an somewhat pleasant ring to it. "That is an... interesting name. Did you choose it yourself?"

For whatever reason, she giggled and smiled at him the way mothers smiled at children who didn't understand something rather simple. "No. My parents called me that. What's your name?"

He thought of asking if she could be called anything else, what would it be, but chose not to. And he almost told her his name, but she wasn't privileged enough to know such things. He wasn't one for small talk, especially with little human females he had just met mere minutes ago. Instead, he decided to play the helpless victim, lifting one hand to motion to the bars, fingertips touching cool steel.

"I do not understand the need for this," he said, meeting her eyes with his. Which was a mistake, because the moment she spoke in response he knew she had seen through to his dangerous nature.

"You attacked two of my friends. It's a precaution. They're not sure what to make of you just yet."

And it dawned on him that, even though she was staring certain death in the face, she didn't seem to mind. In fact, he smelt no fear from her at all.

"They?" He blinked in a curious manner. "So, _you_ are unafraid?"

"More fascinated, I guess." Her quiet voice rose a little, and he sensed her confidence rising just a little, mixing in with a strange sense of pride. "Fear isn't as healthy as most people like to think."

"Ahhh..." He murmured, letting his eyes wander over her now. She was smaller in frame than the other humans he had laid eyes on, though he had a hunch she was close to the same age, give or take one or two years. She reminded him of a mouse, so small and timid and soft spoken... But before he could finish analyzing her completely, he noticed another female inching toward them, obviously more intent on reaching Amanda than himself. This one was brimming with fear and he decided to play upon it.

"Why hello, little one," he said quietly, locking his eyes onto his new target.

"Caty," Amanda grinned at the other girl, hardly surprised she had shown up. It really had been only a matter of time before someone came looking for her, to drag her away from his magnificent creature. Though, she was surprised it was Caitlin, not Prime or even Magnus. "Maybe you can help me," she said, hopeful as she reached for Caitlin's hand, "he won't give me his name."

He was hardly shocked to see the other girl shake her head and quite literally drag Amanda away, scolding her, telling her he was dangerous and he was not to be treated so kindly because he could not be trusted just yet.

The shock came later, when Amanda returned in the middle of the night and wandered through the darkness until her hands wrapped around the bars of the cage he resided in.

"Quite the disobedient little human, aren't you?" He smirked, reaching out to touch her fingers wrapped tightly around one bar. "Not only were you not allowed down here to begin with, but you return so shortly after you were specifically told not to."

She returned the smirk, though he noticed hers lacked the hint of malice his had. And she didn't pull away when he touched her hand, not even when he dug his sharp nails into her knuckles tauntingly.

"Sam's not the best babysitter, neither is Mikaela, especially when they're more interested in each other," she said, watching those nails on her knuckles, scratching at her skin and leaving little white marks soon to turn red.

"And the others?"

"They think I know better," she chuckled and then regarded him seriously. "Which I do. That's why I'm down here."

He left her hand burning and feeling cold at the same time as he stepped back in his cage, pulling his hand away from hers. She gathered from his silence that he wanted her to continue, so she did.

"I bet you could break out of his cage if you wanted to," she said, running her hands up and down the bars, fingers folding at odd, graceful angles against the metal. "I saw what you did to Jin and Doozy. You're stronger than this," she tapped on a bar to get her point across. "But," she smiled at him and he felt the oddest sensation run down his spine, right down to the tip of his tail, "you haven't yet. So you can't be all that dangerous."

He snarled in response, then rolled his tongue against his maw, creating sounds Amanda was certain she had heard once before from the raptors in Jurassic Park.

"Perhaps I'm waiting for the correct moment to strike."

"I don't doubt it," she said with that same smile. She shrugged and stepped back, then around the cage to sit beside it. "Until then, though, I hope you don't mind the company."

And no more words were said, because he honestly had no idea what to think of this little human girl. She knew he was dangerous, she knew he was plotting a potential massacre, and yet here she was, insistent on staying with him. Soon enough her body was slumped over with her head titled back, resting against the cool wall behind her. He watched her sleeping, squatted to be face-to-face with her. It would have been so easy to reach out and pull her closer, spin her around and snap her pretty neck and make his escape then and there. But he didn't even so much as raise a hand to reach through the bars.

Those other humans and whoever those people were that had the names of those from the Great War may have thought him to be a dangerous, enigmatic creature but this girl... This girl was the enigma. This girl with the haunting hazel eyes and tiny, frail body was the one that needed to be watched and studied, since she seemed to see something in him the others didn't. Something even he didn't see in himself. So he would remain silent and imprisoned and hate every passing second of it, until he understood her and her strange fascination with him.

He trusted her less than he trusted Megatron.


	2. Ignorance is Bliss

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any Beast Wars or Transformers characters. I only own Amanda; Noelle owns Caitlin, Uppertorso owns Dinobot's anthro design.

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**Ignorance is Bliss**

He could deal with being flung into a different time period, and he could have dealt with being organic _if_ the change had been temporary. But it seemed fate had other plans in store for him, considering a mere two days after his arrival the Autobots had returned to their normal robotic selves and he was _still_ in the twisted hybrid form the transwarp wave had forced him into. Naturally, he was released from the breakable prison once the Autobots felt they had power over him. And they did, which set him at unease when he came to face Prime for the first time outside of the base. The Autobot leader towered over him, it made him feel smaller and a lot more helpless than he actually was.

He was questioned. Each and every answer was a lie no Autobot was clever enough to see through. Then Prime had asked his Second what should be done with him, since he still could not be trusted. Though before Jazz could respond, that curious little human female – Amanda, her name was Amanda – spoke up. She walked out from behind Sam and Caitlin and stated boldly in her quiet voice that he shouldn't be locked up again. It wouldn't solve anything in the long run, she said with a casual shrug. Prime was hesitant, but he didn't argue her point – even if Ironhide was eager to, ready to fire up his weapons and rid them of their problem entirely.

What to do, the question that was repeated and tossed between human and Autobot for nearly an hour, and he simply stood back and watched with his arms crossed over his chest with his scythe-like claw tapping idly against the dirt. Of all the things suggested, the final decision was the one he detested (and feared) the most.

"I refuse," he snarled though silenced himself once he was staring down the barrel of one of Ironhide's large Cybertronian weapons again.

"We're not giving you the choice," the weapon's expert said.

"Shouldn't I have some say in this?" Amanda spoke up again, hands clenched into tight fists as she absently took her place beside the newcomer.

"S'that or he's gonna end up in another cell," Jazz said with a nonchalant shrug. When he caught the look that asked _for how long_, Jazz replied, "at least till we figure out who this dude really is."

Amanda looked up at the tall male. They shouldn't have locked him up to begin with. She had been down there with him and spoke to him on occasion, when he felt up to entertaining her, and they could have just as easily asked him about himself instead of putting him behind bars. She sighed and looked down to the ground. "Alright. He can stay with me."

He looked at her, reptilian eyes widening for a moment before they narrowed on her shaking fists. What good could come of this, he wondered. There were certainly no benefits in it for her. And she surely knew that the chances he killed her were high...

And that, somehow, still didn't change the fact that later on that night he was delivered to her home, courtesy of Prime himself. Once the door had closed and he heard the truck drive away, he crossed his arms over his chest and glared at her.

"Dinobot."

"I beg your pardon?" She questioned.

"My name. It's Dinobot."

The way she smiled at him made his blood feel as though it were running cooler, and he found himself digging his nails into his palms. That pleasant, trusting smile of hers was loathsome.

"So, Dinobot," she said as she moved into the living. He followed because he was lost in her home and there was no better way to become acquainted with his new surroundings. She sat on the beige love seat, watching that thick claw tapping against the hardwood floor. "Are you like the others? Like Optimus?"

"If you're asking if I, too, am Cybertronian, then the answer is yes."

"And your faction? You're obviously not an Autobot," she chuckled a little and leaned back, crossing one leg over the other. "I should assume you're a Decepticon then, but I don't know..."

Unable to help himself, he allowed her to see the ghost of a grin on his lips. "You've earned my name thus far, I will tell you more when I feel you deserve to know more."

"Fair enough," she said quietly with that wretched smile on her lips again. It was the second time she smiled at him like that in less than fifteen minutes. He was determined to understand why, to see what it was she was hiding behind those lips.

And it was that strong sense of determination that glued him to where he sat now. Sitting on a kitchen chair, turned around wrong to allow him comfort, he watched her from across the living room, ignoring the quiet sounds of the television. She had her knees drawn up and a notebook resting on her lap, the mechanical pencil in her hand scratching words onto the blue-lined paper. Now and then she would glance up, a flash of light from the TV stealing her away from her writing for only half a second before she would return to jotting down words on paper.

She did this often, he had come to learn. Sometimes she would write for minutes, sometimes for hours. But he was never able to see what it was she wrote. She was always quick to hide it if she saw him approaching, even quicker to rush to her bedroom and put her notebook away in a place he had yet to find.

He wondered if maybe it was because she was writing about him. The thought didn't register as logical, but Dinobot entertained it anyway, knowing by now a little of the strangeness young human females were capable of. Especially when they had an attraction to something or someone...

Snarling at his own ludicrous ideas, he tugged up the sleeves of the shirt he was wearing until the cuffs were folded neatly at his elbows. Distracting himself for a moment, he remembered how much he hated these clothes – but she had insisted, said it was rude to walk around naked. Even if his private bits were hidden inside a pouch between his legs. Resting his cheek against his palm, letting his free arm drape across his bent elbow, he resumed watching her, reminding himself that it was only because he had nothing better to do.

She looked up slowly, her eyes darting from the colorful commercial on TV over to the velociraptor hybrid. "What?" She asked once she realized he had been staring. He said nothing, watching curiously as her cheeks and the bridge of her nose turned a shade of pink, darkening the longer he kept his eyes on her.

Understanding she wasn't going to get an answer, she quickly looked down to her writing again, but he noticed the pencil wasn't moving. She simply stared at the paper, and he wondered if maybe...

Maybe, just _maybe_, he had been right, after all. Maybe she was writing about him – maybe she did...

The chair toppling over and hitting the floor noisily caused her to look up again, in time to see him turn around and leave the living room.


	3. Complications

**Disclaimer:** I own Amanda, that's about it.

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**Complications**

"Oh, I thought so," she said as she started to undo the bandages wrapped tightly around his hand and forearm. "You're all healed."

She sounded sincerely pleased, really happy for him. He could hardly stomach it. If she had cared as much as she pretend to, she would have let him be after he stormed off the other day. She wouldn't have pestered him and he wouldn't have had to put his fist through the guest room's window. And, ultimately, they wouldn't be in this horrid situation, with her and her shaking hands peeling away the bandages he had left on a few days longer than he should have, and him staring out the new window pane to avoid looking at the object of his rage.

"Now," she said with a little smirk, trying to look at his face, "don't go breaking the window again. Ok?"

Now she was teasing him. Playing with him. _Daring him_. He clenched his newly freed, itching hand and dug his nails into his palms. If he was lucky, he would bleed his irritation away – again.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her shifting on her feet, crossing her arms over her chest in that way that meant she was expecting a response. He wouldn't give her one. She didn't deserve it. In fact, he wasn't even going to give her a second glance. He would stare at the oblivious world outside until she grew tired of his silence and arrogance and let him be, _finally_

The concrete streets suddenly looked terribly inviting. He supposed it was because he hadn't been truly able to go outside in the three weeks or so that he had been trapped inside this house with her. Venturing into the backyard after dark hardly satisfied his need to be free of this place.

And it was so sad to think of how easy it could have been for him to free himself. All he had to do was overpower the girl and walk out the front door. At least, he would have liked things to go so smoothly. He knew if he stepped outside, the law enforcement would be upon him like a plague. And overpowering the girl... She was obviously too stubborn to be frightened away, and if he hurt her he would have to answer to Prime. Either way, he would end up in another form of confinement.

However, he supposed no form of imprisonment could be worse than what he was enduring now. He hated being in this house with her. He hated the way she looked at him, smiling at him as though he were _human_ and not some twisted joke of organic matter. He hated the way she made his blood run hot with explosive emotions. He hated the way she could sit so calmly in the same room as him, knowing full well how dangerous he was. He hated being here with her for reasons he couldn't quite label as simply as: _hating her_. It was more than hate, and so much more complicated...

"Dinobot?"

His name rolling off her tongue made his skin crawl. He regretted telling it to her. He growled and turned to her, intent on telling her to leave him be. But the words never left his mouth as his gaze met hers. She was staring at him strangely, the way she had the first day they met. With that sickening sense of admiration in her eyes.

He turned completely to her, his bangs falling over one eye as he regarded her curiously. "What are you staring at?" He managed, tone still low and words veiled by a weak attempt at a snarl.

She blushed that wretched shade of pink and looked to the floor. "Nothing," she said quietly. "I was just wondering what you were staring at. What you were thinking about."

"That is none of your concern, girl," he muttered.

"Tell me one day?"

His surprise must have shown on his features, because it was obvious from the way the corners of her mouth twitched she was trying not to smile. He thought sourly that she wouldn't be smiling if she knew what he had been thinking. And he should have told her, to finally wipe that horrible expression off her face for good. But he didn't. He simply turned back to the window, and watched her reflection in the glass, pretending to watch the world pass them by.

Things were getting so much more complicated than he would have liked. It would have been easier to hate her. But he didn't – no matter how much he _wanted_ to.

"Perhaps, one day."


	4. Momentary Submission

**Disclaimer:** I still only own Amanda.

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**Momentary Submission**

It started with quiet words and short tempers, and turned into something dangerous. Hushed voices rose into screams. Fangs were bared and claws were dug into the hardwood floor. Her face was flushed and her eyes were narrowed on him in a glare. He returned the glare to her with twice as much disdain in his eyes. He spat something vulgar at her, something she didn't quite understand, considering it was coded in Cybertronian slang. Crossing her arms over her chest, she replied sharply, "yeah well... fuck you, too."

_Fuck. _He knew the word. Earth slang for sexual intercourse, also used as an offensive curse. He eyed her, wondering which way she had meant it. He assumed she meant it offensively, but couldn't quite help entertain the other way she could have meant it. He certainly had all the right appendages to make _fucking her_ happen...

She saw him staring. She didn't like it. Flustered further and flushing deeper, she fussed with her shirt. "Stop staring at me like that." A roll of her eyes and then, "was just... you know, saying that. Joking around, 'cause I didn't understand what you said." She smiled weakly at him. He grinned at her.

And just like that, the feral danger of the situation vanished, giving way to something far more primitive than rage.

"I had heard that there is a human saying," he started, and something in the flippant way he spoke made her blood suddenly run cold. "How jokes are often half-meant." He took one step forward. She took two back. "So," he lifted one hand to touch her shoulder, "I am curious, Amanda." He gripped her tight, digging his sharp nails into the grooves of her bones. "What does that say about what you've just told me?"

She stared at him wide-eyed, glancing nervously from his hand to his face. The angry flush faded into something else, a tinge of embarrassing pink across the bridge of her nose as he walked her backwards, until the back of her knees hit the couch. Once she was flat on her back, he was on _her_, pinning her smaller body all too easily.

"I don't understand your _fascination_ with the idea," he said in a hushed tone, a grin on his lips as he leaned into her, that grin terribly close to her pulse-point. "Isn't this sort of desire more deviant than anything else?" He chuckled. It made her shiver.

"W-what desire?" She whispered, heart racing and body stiff. "I've no desire for you!"

"Then why are you so pink?" He countered, touching his lips to her neck, kissing her pulse. "Why did you tell me to _fuck you_?" he whispered once his lips had been dragged to her earlobe.

"I said I was kidding!" She protested and whimpered when his tongue toyed with her earring.

"But you weren't," he hissed, leaning up and eyeing her smugly. "That was a joke that was not meant to be humorous in the least. You meant it completely, and tried to cover it with a feeble attempt at wit."

She looked to the side, biting her bottom lip, squeezing her thighs together beneath him as much as their positioning would allow. She couldn't deny that anger had turned into something else, and that _something else_ was making her weak in the knees and sticky between her thighs.

"Not here." Her voice was quiet, but she wasn't whispering anymore.

"I beg your pardon?"

She looked up at him slowly. "Not here. Not on the couch."

He chuckled softly and moved off of her.

---

She covered her face with a pillow, but even suffocation could never put out the fire running rampant through her veins, threatening to tear right through her skin. She was a bundle of nerves, unsure if she was trembling due to want or fear. And, only for a moment, she second-guessed her choice of action.

But the thought is vanquished from her mind once his tongue slid across her moist sex slowly, making her buck her hips up off the mattress a little. He breathed hot and hard against her as he pressed his face between her legs, kissing her lips before parting them with his tongue. His hands ran up her thighs, then disappeared under the shirt she still wore to knead the flesh of her stomach, then her bra-clad breasts.

She looked down at him, then quickly let her head fall back down as he moaned into her center. His teeth grazed her, pinching her swollen and flushed folds of flesh momentarily. _Just do it_, she thought as teeth and tongue and lips violated her, _eat me alive and get it over with_

But he had no such intention, and she arched up off the bed when his hand replaced his mouth. His fingers slipped between her lips, teased her slick entrance, then wandered higher to find the taut nub of flesh that just begged to be touched. Then he shifted, and the mattress groaned as he crouched over her, reptilian feet on either side of her, scythe-like claws kneading at the sheets idly. His fingers never stopped moving, even as he looked down at her curiously.

Using his free hand, he removed the pillow from her hands and face, letting her hands grasp helplessly at the air, unsure of what to do with themselves. He smiled a predatory smile at her, then took one hand into his own. He bowed his head, tongue slipping out from between his lips until the tip touched her palm. Then he traced her life-line until his tongue was flicking teasingly at the pulse-point on her wrist.

That was when their eyes met, and they stared at one another. And the argument from earlier wormed its way into the tension between them. He had said she had no backbone, she begged to differ. He said he would like to see her prove it, she said she would – when she felt like it. Now he was daring her to _feel like it_. Biting her lip as she stared into the thinned slits of his his eyes, she obliged and took the dare.

He backed off of her, off the bed, and he looked from her eyes down to her naked lower half. He licked his lips as she pushed herself off the bed and made her way to him. The chill in the air, compared to the warmth of the bed that tried vainly to cling to her skin, caused goose-bumps to rise on her bared thighs. One hand came to rest on his stomach, gently pushing. Pushing until he was backed up against the wall.

He watched her as fell to her knees slowly, watched her hands play over the sensitive area between his legs. Her fingers traced scale patterns on his sheath until she found the slit. She dipped a finger inside and rubbed gently, coaxing out his member. The flush that covered her face once more made him cock an eyebrow as he breathed in that lusty mist rising from her every pore, only becoming stronger as she leaned into him. He didn't quite understand the need for this, considering she was obviously more than ready, already _hot_ and _wet_ and _needy_

Her thumbs rubbed at the underside of his length, her tongue lapped gently at the tip. The most shameful, pleasurable sensations ran like fire through his veins when she took him into her mouth, the warmth and moisture a promise of other things to come sooner than later.

He let himself enjoy it for a moment, a low growl rising from the back of his throat. The moment didn't last long, however, and he found himself becoming impatient with foreplay. A hand shot out and took a fistful of her hair close to the base of her neck. He dragged her to her feet, to him and kissed her hard, nipping her bottom lip to keep his flaring temper under wraps.

There was a hint of blood suddenly caressing his tongue. He grinned against her mouth, chuckling low and hungry. Pulling away from her mouth, he licked the minor wound on her lip as he lifted her with no effort needed. Then he lowered her slowly, making certain she relished his agonizingly slow entry. Again, he forced his lips on hers, swallowing her tiny gasp as his hands found her hips and prompted her to rock over him.

He purposefully took his time, letting her build her confidence until she was shedding her shirt and bra like snake-skin. And in time, she finally took the initiative. Her legs wrapped around his waist. Her mouth was on his neck, trailing kisses across his flesh upwards. Up, until her teeth were able to catch the lobe of his ear, until her tongue was tracing the inner pathways.

He held still as she moved herself against him, her slick warmth swallowing his length time and time again, maddening him as pleasurable pressure built in his lower stomach. Then he suddenly cupped her arse and thrust up, causing her voice to catch as she tossed her head back. His mouth is on her neck, tongue and teeth playing across the place where he heart beat hummed at him. Then lower, to her breast, to her puckered nipple.

Eventually, she was splayed out under him on the bed, and he was bent over her, thrusting, sating himself.

When it was over, he crouched on the floor and spread her legs open wide with her hips on the edge of the bed so he could lick at her swollen sex, ignoring her shy protests. And, just like that, the timid creature that she was returned and squirmed in a feeble attempt to make him stop his blissful assault on her spent center. One look from him silenced her. He hid his smile by pressing his lips to her entrance, kissing her hard there, and a low rumble rose from the back of his throat that sounded far too much like a growl.

Anything to keep her quiet, to keep her at his mercy – for the moment.


	5. Made to be Broken

**Disclaimer:** Ya know the drill by now.

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**Made to be Broken**

It started with her noticing the little things; the way his lips would twitch when warding off a smile, the way his fists clenched and he'd dig his nails into his palms when he was keeping his temper in check. Then she started noticing things that went deeper; the way he'd glare at her with eyes that saw through whatever front she tried to put up, the way he could say so much with the simplest turn of phrase, the way his muscles rippled beneath his flesh when she touched just the right places. She noticed it all and pretended it never happened each and every time. Dinobot was not someone to accept such things, it was easier to make-believe she didn't feel _that_ way.

At least, that was what she wanted to believe. Pretending she wasn't falling for him was getting harder by the day, and Caitlin's persistence on the matter hadn't helped much, either. Amanda could have gone without playing Caty's variant of Twenty Questions, and she definitely hadn't needed to hear Caty whisper _you're in love with him_ with a wistful smile on her lips and a knowing gleam in her eyes.

Amanda had blushed then and quickly changed the subject as they wasted more time than needed at an outdoor café. There had been something about hearing someone else telling her how she felt, it was as though Caty had confirmed it for her and there was no changing it now.

And staring at Dinobot as he watched TV, noticing the slightest changes in his visage once in awhile, she knew it was true.

"Must you stare so?" Dinobot asked, his sigh deep, making his chest heaving. When she didn't respond, simply turning her attention back to _CSI_, it was his turn to watch her. She was acting strange, different from the way she usually did around the other humans or the Autobots. And he knew why. He wasn't well versed in affairs of the heart, but his sense of smell was as keen as it had ever been while he was forced to take the form of a saurian. He could smell the pheromones radiating from her. He noted they had been especially strong since she'd returned from her outing with Caitlin the other day.

She cleared her throat. "Must you stare so?" She mocked his earlier question, but she wasn't fortunate enough to receive no answer in turn.

"I don't have to, no, but your scent is most interesting," he drawled, keeping his eyes on her, partially to make her blood run faster, hotter through her veins, but mostly out of habit.

"Is that so?" She asked in response, bringing her legs up and folding them under her as she rested her weight against the arm of the sofa. "Care to elaborate?"

"Don't play dumb, girl," he snapped, a snarl almost rising up and out of his throat. "I think it is _you_ that should elaborate."

She said nothing, and this time he did snarl at her. How he loathed her horribly shy and timid nature that contradicted the bold heart she often wore on her sleeve.

"I can smell it," he said haughtily. "I've sensed it since the day we met. Your fascination, your adoration, your _lust_," he spoke slowly, tone harsh as he sneered.

"I can't help it," she spoke quietly, slower than he. "You fascinate me for obvious reasons. And I wouldn't say I _adore_ you. That's too strong a word. _Appreciate_ your presence suits the situation better." Her cheeks began to color that shade of pink he hated most days and had only approved of that one time he had her pinned beneath him. "As for lusting after you," she looked to him again, and he could tell she wanted to smirk, at least smile, but couldn't summon the courage to be so bold. "It was _you_ that came onto _me_, if I remember right."

"Indeed," he muttered, "you recall correctly. However, who said I was referring to only that one time? I've smelt your need everyday thereafter."

Her fists clenched in that pathetic manner they often did when she was caught red-handed.

"There's more to it now, isn't there?" He reached out and took her hands in his, forcibly loosening her grip on the air. She was trembling now as he held onto her tightly, but he knew she wasn't quaking for fear's sake. "_Isn't there_?"

"Would it matter if there was?" She asked, eyes cast down, staring at his blue hands.

She expected him to lash out and ultimately leave the room, not to sigh and lean away from her, leaving her hands to shake on their own.

"Would it matter?" he mused, running a hand through his hair. He leaned his head back against the couch and stared at the ceiling. After a few seconds of silence, he shook his head. "No, I suppose it wouldn't."

"Why?" She inquired, her voice quiet and he knew it was about to crack. "Why wouldn't it matter?"

He chuckled half-heartedly, turning his head to the side to look at her. "You're too breakable."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Dinobot grabbed her wrist and pulled her close, resting her forehead to his. "I make no promises, to anyone. Ever. Do you understand that?"

She nodded.

"I cannot promise you forever," he said simply.

She pulled away from his face, heart racing. "I don't want you to!"

"You do. That is the one thing every sentient being wants to be given in return for their affection. Love is greedy in such ways."

"But – "

Two fingers two her lips silenced her. "Hush. I cannot, so I will not. Why? Because you humans are fragile things that love too easily and with far too much force, and should the bond be broken, you shatter as well." His eyes searched hers, if only to make sure she was keeping up with him. It seemed so, considering her eyes were glassing over with tears she was too proud to shed in front of him.

He sighed, reaching behind her to rest a hand to the back of her neck, drawing her back to him.

"Why?" He repeated the question he knew she was still dying to ask, to have answered. "Because, girl, I do not want to be the one to break you."


	6. Misplaced

**Disclaimer:** I'm running out of witty ways to say I own nothing 'cept my OC.

* * *

**Misplaced**

She hadn't needed to knock on Dinobot's bedroom door, he was already opening it by the time she'd reached it. She reached for him, held onto one arm tightly and tugged herself closer, blissfully ignorant of his gentle attempts to shake her off.

"What is the matter with you?" He questioned, patience worn thin and temper barely in check.

"I heard something," she said quietly, staring at the open door now that she was safely hidden behind the velociraptor hybrid. "There's something in the house, I know it," she continued.

"I am aware of this," he said in a casual tone, finally able to shove the young human off of him. "There's no need for panic," he mumbled and with a roll of his eyes added, "I will see to it. Stay here."

She nodded, lingering in the doorway as he left the room. She listened to him walk, heard him snarl, heard a brief scuffle and finally a gasp. Then her blood ran cold when he shouted, "_you?!_"

She stepped out of the room tentatively, arms wrapped around herself to keep the proverbial chill in the air away. "Dinobot...?"

"Amanda!" He was still shouting, and she knew the situation at hand was serious if he had opted to use her name instead of calling her _girl_. "Come here!"

She made a beeline to the living room, turning the light on without hesitation. She saw him crouched over the couch, presumably holding down another body with his own. "What was it?" She asked quietly, edging her way around the couch to get a better look.

"It seems we're in need of an exterminator," he growled, looking at her, pupils thin slits, mirroring his agitation. He was quick to stand again, shoving the intruder onto the floor. Even quicker to place a foot onto the stranger's back, the tip of the scythe-like claw pressing down roughly between the man's shoulder blades.

"Don't you mean _the police_?" Amanda asked, cocking her head to one side, eyes always on the newcomer.

"No," Dinobot said with a sneer. "I mean an exterminator. To eradicate this _vermin_."

"That's a bit harsh, don't you think?" Amanda chuckled, crossing her arms over her chest. "I know this guy's in the wrong and all, but to call him a ra – " She silenced herself when Dinobot reached down to take hold of the slim tail and held it up for her to see, the tip pinched between his thumb and index finger.

"Oh..." Amanda cleared her throat. Assuming these two were victims of the same circumstance, she asked, "do you... know him?"

"Unfortunately," Dinobot muttered.

"I ain't too thrilled to see you, neither!" The stranger snapped, wriggling beneath Dinobot in vain. "Jus' you remember I ain't here 'cause I wanna be."

Dinobot growled, reluctantly releasing the other's tail and removing his foot from the smaller body's back, shoving him aside as he did so. "Then what _are_ you doing here?"

The intruder stood up and brushed himself off, glaring daggers at Dinobot the entire time. "The Boss Monkey's had me an' Spots out scowerin' the badlands an' the majority o' this city lookin' for your sorry skidplate."

"Well give yourself a pat on the back, Rattrap, you've found me," he muttered.

"Excuse me," Amanda said quietly, stepping around the rat hybrid to stand at Dinobot's side, "but what's going on?"

"I believe my... comrades have found me."

Amanda was quiet for a moment, then asked, "what do we do now, then?"

"You contact Prime. We need to go to the compound." He then turned his attention to Rattrap, "and you. Contact Primal. Relay the coordinates I am about to give you and have him, and the rest of his rag-tag crew, meet us there."

---

Standing in front of the eccentric menagerie of Maximals, Amanda didn't feel so uncomfortable knowing some of her closest friends were giant alien robots from outer space that could transform into a variety of vehicles, among other things. It all seemed almost normal now, as she stood in front of the group of seven other human-animal hybrids. The only one that looked relatively human, she noted mentally, was the leader known as Optimus Primal. The ape-hybrid's only abnormalities, if they could even be considered so, were the muscles on his arms and legs that bulged, evidently stronger than a normal man's.

Rattrap was the only other one that could pass as a human, if he took the time to hide the tail and wear sunglasses to conceal the strange red tint to his eyes. The gray hair could pass as dye, and the pale flesh tone could be nothing more than a skin condition.

The others weren't so fortunate.

There was Cheetor, the blue-skinned, freckled blond with a spotted tail. Rhinox, a green-skinned rhinoceros-hybrid that, at first glance, seemed to resemble a misshapen centaur. Tigatron, with his aquamarine flesh tone, salt-and-pepper hair and stripped tail. Airazor, the only female of the group; she, too, could have passed as a human, had it not been for the large feathered wings. Silverbolt; also winged, but with a wolf's tail. And finally, there was Depth Charge, complete with webbed hands and feet, blue skin, and a set of functional-when-necessary gills behind his ears.

It didn't take long before the Autobots and Maximals came to the same notion that crossed Amanda's mind: They needed to be _fixed_. They couldn't spend the rest of their lives in these bizarre bodies.

"I think I can help you guys there," Wheeljack said, running a hand over his facial mask, then tapped his finger against the place his chin would be in thought.

"If you don't mind," Rhinox started, looking up at the Autobot scientist, "I'd be more than willing to help in any way I can."

"Good idea, man," Jazz chuckled, slinging an arm around Wheeljack's shoulders as he looked down at the Maximal. "I wouldn't trust this guy to make a toaster on his own."

"Gonna work on that pronto, right Big Green?" Cheetor asked all too eagerly.

"Consider it done, kiddo," Wheeljack smiled behind the faceplate, and was rewarded with a smile so wide it could rival Caty's.

---

It hadn't taken long at all. Together with Wheeljack, Rhinox was able to create a device capable of reversing the transwarp wave's affects in a short span of two weeks. The Maximal scientist had been tried the machine on himself first, willing to be his own lab rat, despite Primal's protests. The transformation was successful, and Rhinox had wasted no time in gathering the other Maximals into a large subbasement. They went in made of flesh and bone, and emerged in the mechanical bodies they were supposed to have.

And he never could have imagined just how relieved he was to feel a spark throbbing in place of the heart he had grown shamefully accustomed to. To stand up tall and proud among the Autobots and their human guild, to have mech fluid run smooth through his circuits, to feel the constant chill that came with having a body made of alien metals... It was a bittersweet change.

"Dinobot," Rhinox called out, stopping the saurian from closing the great gap between himself and Amanda by putting a hand on his shoulder.

"What is it?" He asked, not turning around to face his teammate as he stilled, keeping his optics on the human girl standing off in the distance with Caitlin, Rattrap and Cheetor, making idle chit-chat.

Rhinox's grip tightened a little on Dinobot, optics darkening a bit. "Dinobot, you know as well as any of us that we _can't_ stay here. This isn't our time, our war." He stole a glance at the human girl Dinobot had his optics on and sighed. "We don't belong here."

Dinobot drew his gaze away from the humans and his comrades for a moment, first looking to the floor, then to Rhinox's green fingers barely digging into his shoulder. He sighed and yanked himself free of Rhinox's grasp with more force than needed.

Clenching his fist, metallic claws groaning under the pressure, he replied in a hush, "I know where I am _meant_ to be, Rhinox."


	7. Let Me Go

**Disclaimer:** I still don't own Beast Wars, it's characters, or Transformers and it's characters. Go figure.

* * *

**Let Me Go**

She could handle the fact that Dinobot could no longer live with her, considering he was far too large. She could handle the fact that being around him in his natural form was a little awkward, considering his size and beast mode were rather intimidating aspects she figured she would never be able to completely adjust to. She could handle the change as well as he could, which wasn't saying much, but there was one thing she refused to come to terms with.

"Do you have to?" She asked in a whisper, having to look up even though he was down on one knee to lock her eyes onto his optics, her hands on one of his.

He sighed deeply, optics blinking off and shuttering for a few seconds. He fisted his hand, pulling it out from under her feather-light grasp that could have held him still if he had been organic, because there had been _something_ addictive about the way her flesh felt against his. Now her touch was but a warm, barely noticeable weight on his cool, scaled hand, all too easily ignored.

"I do," he replied in a quietness all his own, the brightness of his optics dimmed.

"I don't want you to," she said stubbornly, shamelessly launching herself at him, pressing her cheek to the hide of his beast mode on his chest plate.

He was thankful sparks could not pound the way hearts did, grateful she would be unable to hear the way his spark was suddenly pulsating violently. He stared down at her, seeing her smaller than she really was as she grasped in vain at the metallic ribcage on his torso, trying to find some piece of him to hold onto.

"Amanda," he sighed, shaking his head as he pushed her away. "Do not make this harder than it has to be." He stood, towering over her by a few feet. "I cannot stay here, regardless of how I may – or may not – feel."

She took a deep breath, doing everything in her power not to let her heart break in front of him. "So what now?"

"You know what's to happen next," he said, turning on his heel and walking toward the subbasement's entrance. The others would be waiting there, waiting to be loaded into Prime's trailer and driven out to the middle of nowhere, where the Axalon slept.

---

Amanda clambered out of Bumblebee, as did Caitlin, before the Autobot transformed behind them.

"Are you alright?" Caty asked, catching Amanda by the wrist to keep her in place as the Maximals stepped out into the open.

"Not really," Amanda said quietly, her eyes never leaving Dinobot as he walked in silence from Prime's trailer to the entrance platform of the Maximal exploration cruiser. He stood beside it, looked across the distance and met Amanda's gaze.

"I don't want him to go," she continued, easing her wrist out of Caty's grasp, only to hold onto her friend's hand. "I really, really don't."

"Did you tell him that?"

Amanda nodded. "Didn't change anything," she was smiling in spite of the lump forming in her throat, weighing her words down. "There's nothing in this world can could change his mind."

"Nothing?" Caty asked, frowning as she looked ahead to watch Dinobot, too.

Amanda shook her head. "Nothing. No one. Some things just aren't meant to be, I guess."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Caty, if this was meant to be, he'd be standing here right now, or I'd be getting on that ship." She sighed heavily. "He doesn't belong here, he said so himself. And I doubt outer space is anyplace for me."

"Yo, Chopperface!" Rattrap bellowed from inside the Axalon, "move it or lose it!"

Dinobot tore his optics away from the human girl, and offered the smallest smile he could muster before stepping onto the platform, being the last to enter the ship.

"I gotta let him go, Caty," Amanda continued, watching as the spaceship came to life, no doubt thanks to Rhinox's urgings. "I don't want to, but I have to. Even if it kills me," she mumbled. And as the ship lifted off the ground, she finally let the tears flow.

By the time the reversed quantum surge was over, sending the Maximals back to wherever-they-came from, Amanda was trembling in Caty's arms.

"S'not fair," she murmured tearfully against her friend's collarbone.

"I've come to realize there are few things in this world that are fair," Bumblebee said from behind the two girls. "Destiny isn't one of them."

---

"Thank you, 'Jack," Amanda said quietly as she took the modified comlink from the Autobot's large palm. She turned it over in her hands, admiring Wheeljack's work. He'd taken the bulky machine she'd found down in one of the subbasements, on the floor of a holding cell, apart and put it back together, made smaller for her convenience.

"It's no problem," Wheeljack replied quietly. "Do you need me to show you how it works?"

She shook her head and ran a finger across the notches and buttons. "I think I can figure it out," she murmured, then gasped when static broke through the speaker after she'd flicked the switch on the side.

"Well, that's the on/off switch," he snickered.

"It's like a police-radio, right?"

"More or less. All you can really do with that is listen to it. If you're lucky, you might catch a transmission, and if you're _extremely_ lucky you might actually be able to respond to it." He rubbed the back of his neck. "But... if I were you, I wouldn't get my hopes up. They're far, far away and even intergalactic technology like that has its limits."

Amanda nodded quietly. "Thanks again, it's really appreciated."

"Like I said, it was nothing," Wheeljack said. "Now go show that gizmo off to the others," he tried to make light of the situation. She nodded and walked out of his workspace, and he sighed as he watched her leave, holding the forgotten piece of technology close to her heart, listening to the endless whisper of static.

-End

* * *

_  
Had I known my heart would break,  
I would have loved you anyway._


End file.
